Three days later, in the evening.
North of the island nation, outside Sasebo Harbor.
A black heavy cruiser silently floated on the sea surface.
Her black-red hull, 8 × 203 mm main guns, and the iconic double-layered command tower marked her identity - the heavy cruiser, Prinz Eugen.
Under the cover of night, no one noticed the warship.
Lu Chen stood above the bridge, gazing at the coastline in the distance.
"Commander, will Muzan really come?"
Prinz Eugen, with her silver-white long hair and a red streak on her forehead, asked beside him.
"He will, and he will find ways to mobilize all his forces to snatch this nonexistent Spider Lily."
Lu Chen stared at the ground in the distance.
It was precisely because he understood Muzan well that he knew how obsessed the Demon King was with immortality.
According to the script, today was the day that the "rich merchant" was supposed to set sail with the Spider Lily.
The newspaper conveniently leaked the itinerary, and the boarding location happened to be in the almost deserted Sasebo Port.
For Muzan, it was a perfect opportunity, a chance he couldn't pass up.
"Well, what if he doesn't act according to your plan and hides quietly?"
Kaga asked.
From the very beginning, she felt that the Commander was scheming and manipulating Muzan.
However, whether the other party would cooperate was uncertain.
"Then we'll take down the Shogunate first, take their resources, build the Gundam, and blast Muzan and Japan to the sky."
Lu Chen laughed.
He had backup plans, and more than one.
However, he wanted to try the simplest method first, to see if he could lure Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki out, then wipe them all out together.
He also wanted to tease Muzan.
"Oh..."
The other Kanmusu nodded, getting ready for battle.
Taihou and Kaga were also on the deck of Prinz Eugen. The water in Sasebo Harbor was too shallow to accommodate the size of an aircraft carrier.
They would directly engage in combat in their Ship Form.
With a wave of their hands, several carrier-based aircraft took off against the wind, flying towards the distant shore.
"Here they come!"
Soon, the reconnaissance aircraft in front reported.
"Clustered target detected 35 kilometers northwest! Moving toward the coast, they are moving fast!"
…
Ground.
Swish——Swish——
Countless blurry figures dashed through the forest.
They moved incredibly fast, their movements almost impossible to discern with the human eye.
Some were like reptiles, running on all fours, while others jumped like monkeys among the trees.
Only at close range could one see that they were all demons with grotesque appearances!
The Hand Demon with its body covered in countless arms, the Swamp Demon wearing a ninja suit, the Arrow Demon, and countless lower-level demons.
Driven by the Demon King, they roared toward the coast.
A Hundred Demons Night Walk.
Nearly all the demons on the island were gathered here.
Unsettling chuckles and indistinct gurgling sounds echoed through the ranks.
Further back, a pale young man stood.
The ruler of all demons, Kibutsuji Muzan.
He deliberately concealed his figure, focusing all his senses on the surrounding environment.
No humans, and no scent of Demon Slayers.
After the inexplicable death of Douma, he had wanted to lie low for a while.
However, years of failure and his insatiable desire for immortality pushed him to take a risk.
As long as he obtained it, sunlight would no longer be his enemy, and he would become a truly immortal, perfect being.
"Strange, where are the Demon Slayers?"
In front of the demon army, two young men with sturdy builds stood. One had pale skin, bright pink short hair, and black markings all over his face, with "叁" engraved in his irises.
The other had six eyes on his face, with "上弦" and "壹" engraved on the left and right eyes in the middle.
The two Upper Rank demons looked around, but found no trace of the merchant or the Demon Slayers.
They weren't worried about an ambush.
As Upper Rank demons, they could easily kill most Demon Slayers, with virtually no natural enemy.
Plus, with countless lower-level demons and their comrades at their side, even destroying a city or a country wouldn't be a problem.
Which Demon Slayer would be crazy enough to challenge so many demons at the same time?!
“…”
Muzan remained silent. With a wave of his hand, the demon army dispersed, searching the surrounding area.
Since the senses of demons were far sharper than those of humans.
He quickly noticed the warship anchored on the sea in the distance.
That heavy cruiser gave him an odd and strange feeling.
Its design, size, and the flag flying on it didn't seem to belong to this era.
"That's..."
Muzan stared at the sea in confusion, lost in thought.
…
"He really took the bait?"
On the bridge of Prinz Eugen, Lu Chen looked at the situation on land through his binoculars, squinting.
He had just come up with the idea on a whim, wanting to lure Muzan out.
Yet, he actually brought his whole family along, ready for a decisive battle.
Seems like he really wanted that blue-painted Spider Lily.
"One…ten…hundred…”
"Commander, did you poke Muzan's nest?"
Kaga looked at the sea of red dots on the radar interface and couldn't help but complain.
Their radar was generally used for scanning aircraft and warships during naval battles, not very effective in locating small targets.
But Muzan was accompanied by countless demons, a vast sea of them, practically blinding them on the screen.
Some demons, due to their bizarre body structures, the scanner didn't even know how to classify them as humans, animals, or objects.
They could only be identified as unknown creatures.
"This saves us a lot of trouble. We don't have to search high and low for him anymore."
Lu Chen coughed.
"Everyone, free fire."
"Remember, No-Russian…, oh no, I mean no-Japanese?"
...
(Picture of eating hands~)